Alcaraz and Djokovic drawn to play in semi-final

Carlos Alcaraz, the world No1, and Novak Djokovic are projected to meet in a blockbuster semi-final at the French Open, after both landed in the same half of the draw.

With defending champion Rafael Nadal absent, top seed Alcaraz and 22-time major champion Djokovic will have top billing in the men’s tournament at Roland Garros, which begins on Sunday.

Djokovic opens his campaign against American Aleksandar Kovacevic, who is ranked 114th, while Alcaraz faces a qualifier.

The Spaniard will then likely need to get past British No 1 Cameron Norrie and former finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals in order to play Djokovic. Norrie, the 14th seed, faces controversial Frenchman Benoit Paire in the first round and is projected to meet Alcaraz in the last 16.

Britain’s Dan Evans will play Thanasi Kokkinakis, whose last major appearance was an epic latenight encounter with Andy Murray in Melbourne in January. Jack Draper plays 46th-ranked Tomas Etcheverry, of Argentina.

No British women are in the first round of a major for the first time since 2009.

Norrie, meanwhile, continued his solid run in the Lyon Open with victory over sixth seed Sebastian Baez to reach the semi-finals.

The defending champion secured a 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 victory to set up a semi-final against Francisco Cerundolo, who defeated Draper 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Norrie said of being forced to a third set: “I tried to reset and came out with a lot of energy. I have won a lot of three-set matches this year, so I had a lot of confidence.”